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Friday, October 21, 2011

Competitive Streak

You all will probably not be surprised to hear I have a massively competitive streak. I didn't always. As a kid, I was never the one that tried to out run another kid or outdo them in some other way. In fact, I was kind of the opposite. I was naturally good at several things, sports obviously not being one of them, and it actually made me uncomfortable. As a kid, I didn't like being smarter than other kids. I got put into an advanced program in second grade and cried every week until they let me quit. I didn't gloat about my grades or test scores. If someone else's parent compared their kid to me in a chastising way (Why can't you be more like SP?) I would feel awful for both of us. I just was who I was. No sense is making someone feel bad for being who they were. I didn't play a lot of games as a kid. For one thing, I was an only child and rarely around kids outside of school. And for another, I almost always won unless Cyndi Trujillo would steal money from the Monopoly bank while I was in the bathroom. So the fun factor was lacking.

Then in high school, I found myself surrounded by people who were pretty much on the same intellectual level. Not maturity level, but they were pretty bright. I think it was around that time that I started to enjoy competition. I had a couple friends that I would battle for the best grades or fastest test times. It was just a healthy motivator. By college, add some tequila, and this bookworm was coming out of her shell. I wasn't exactly in the frat crowd, I lived in an honor dorm after all, so our wild late nights usually involved playing board game or cards in lobby of our dorm. Myself and several friends worked at the front desk and it was easy to hang out and work at the same time. That's when the competitiveness started getting ugly. The taunting, the name calling, the harassment to get the other people to miss their question... fun times.

I'd like to think that I'm not as bad as I used to be, although I'm still very competitive. My college roommate, Dr. Brilliant, and I won the Scattegories and Outburst tournaments on our Alaskan cruise. (Nerd alert!) I just love to play games, especially trivia ones. I like to watch Jeopardy! (their exclamation point, not mine) I guess that makes me weird, but I just love knowing the answer or if I don't, learning something new for next time. I get this giddy euphoria when I announce to the room that "Bridget Jones' Diary" was the first officially designated chick lit book and watch the others look at me like I'm some kind of human encyclopedia. I'd like my blue pie piece, please.

But it's not all about winning. No, really, although PC will insist that I'm a poor sport and only like games I can win. I disagree. I like the challenge of playing with people that can beat me. Those years as a kid were not fun. If I lose, I lose, and I'll respect you more for beating me, even if I taunt the crap out of you and not so subtly accuse you of cheating. (I'll admit I am a stickler for rules.)

Why do I mention all this? Because the Playfriends are going on a retreat this weekend! On the agenda - massages, margaritas, karaoke and game night! I'm packing Totally 80s Trivial Pursuit, Outburst, Cranium and anything else I can think of. It should be fun, although the tequila will undoubtedly make me loud and irritating like it did in college, so be prepared.

Do you like games? What are some of your favorites? I think mine has to be Taboo but my recent introduction to Cranium has moved it quickly near the top. Its trivia, charades and Pictionary all rolled into one. Are you a sore loser?